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Dear Diary: Realignment

20:29

I will be shifting my priorities for 2017. In fact, I have already taken a few steps. As a grown up woman, I realized that there are things in life where if things don't work out, you can't continue pushing forever. You will need to stop and think if it's still working for you. You will need to ask yourself if this is really what you want, and if this is the right direction for your goals. This blog has come a long way, and it has witnessed my worst experiences in life where I would get depressed and clueless of what my next step is going to be. As I type this post, I never felt so sure in life like I do now.

A few months ago, I was contemplating of leaving "Lapis sa Kalye", the Facebook page where I wrote and posted my works for the public to read. Along the way, I earned a lot of friends. Lapis sa Kalye, translated as Pencil in the Street, is more of an indie writing in the Filipino language for Filipino audience. We published a few books and managed to get into one of the major bookstores in the Philippines. I have been the editor and financier of the group, while I have learned a lot about grammar and format and structure and voice.

The reason for leaving was mainly that I felt my writing has been going in a different direction which does not coincide with the page's goals (if there's any). Years later, I realized I helped other people become authors of themselves, that I forgot about to find my stories the right channel too. I supported people's stories, but they are writers struggling too that they only care about is their writing. They write and write, but never learn to edit them before submitting. It's like they have designed and sewn a dress, but in the end went to the dressmaker and asked for it to be fixed.

Wattpad, one of the platforms where you can write and publish your stories for the public to read attracted a lot of people to write even if they are not passionate about it. There's nothing wrong with writing, but writing without the passion and the willingness to learn is dangerous. These writers would submit their story to publishing companies and expected that their story would find a place.

There were a lot of other reasons why I decided to resign, but I just can't continue to neglect my voice anymore. There were a lot of people, members of the group who left because they lost the interest and moved on with their lives. I left because I am still passionate about writing. Group writing isn't working for me anymore. It's scary because I do not have much of an audience on this blog or my Facebook or Tumblr, but I think that's not the most important thing for now. The essential thing is first become a writer by writing these stories in my head the best possible way I can. For 2017, I will focus on my stories.

And buying furniture for the house in Cebu. Anyway, I'm going to end this post with a Charlie Brown quote:

“In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.”

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About me

I love traveling and immersing myself with different cultures. It has cultivated my love for learning and has exposed me to different perspectives. I'm a travel specialist during the day, an industry I have been with for almost a decade now. Planning other people's trips has always been a mission.

Meanwhile, writing has always been my first love (considering my love of books, of course). I wrote several books including a novella entitled 31st and have collaborated with writers in different genres from romance to folklore. I also curate Philippine Indie books in a boutique bookstore called 8Letters.